“This Youth Month, as the NDA we recognise the important role that young people play in shaping our society and building a better future. Throughout this month, we have been celebrating the energy, creativity, and passion of South African youth and renewed our commitment to supporting them in achieving their full potential”, said Ms Reekeletseng Hlapolosa, NDA’s acting Chief Executive Officer.

The NDA derives its critical mandate from the National Development Agency Act, whose primary objective is to contribute towards the eradication of poverty and its causes, by granting funds to CSOs for the purposes of: (a) carrying out projects or programmes aimed at meeting the development needs of poor communities; and (b) strengthening the institutional capacity of other CSOs involved in direct service provision to poor communities.

Through the Act and various policies, the NDA contributes to – but is not limited to – the advancement of economic development, social cohesion, access to basic human rights and skills development. This contribution is in support of the National Development Plan (NDP) 2030 outcomes for a greater and better South Africa.

Hlapolosa added that this year’s Youth Month theme of “Accelerating youth economic emancipation for a sustainable future” resonates well with the NDA. She encouraged young people to take charge of their future, and make a difference within their respective communities. This year’s celebration of youth month for the NDA, serves as a reminder that the voices of young people matter and that they have the power to make a difference since they are the country’s present and future leaders.

Through this twelve months partnership, it is envisaged that this group of young people will be equipped with the necessary skills such as project management, software education, monitoring & evaluation, finance, human resources, communications and networking skills, which will be fundamental in unlocking their potential, so that they can develop themselves and their communities. This aligns with the YES programme’s mandate, which is to provide meaningful, quality work experience to previously unemployed youth, with the ultimate goal of reducing the unemployment rate across the public and private sectors.   

These young interns have been placed in various departments within the NDA, such as Programmes/Projects Management, Research and Development, Marketing and Communications, ICT Department, Human Resources, Supply Chain Management, Finance and Internal Audit, amongst others. The placement is in line with their qualifications so as to provide them with the relevant skills and experience.  

“The interns bring their fresh minds, intelligence, youthful exuberance and new ideas into organisations. We do hope that the NDA will ensure that they learn as much as they can, with a hope that at the end of the programme, they can be absorbed into any workplace and be found to be fit and proper to execute their tasks’’, said Onyi Nwaneri Afrika Tikkun CEO.

The YES initiative is one of the most hopeful, impactful and necessary interventions in the country. The NDA is proud to be involved with this powerful programme and it hopes that it will grow from strength to strength and fulfil its mission, which strongly aligns with its responsibility of mobilising resources for development or in this case, skills development.

“The NDA aims to develop young people who have a will to eradicate poverty and its causes within their communities. Through this partnership, we believe that the learning experience these young people will gain is fully in line with our philosophy of “Unlocking Potential” to accelerate youth economic emancipation in our society”,   Hlapolosa concluded.

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ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCY